SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team looks to snap a two-match losing streak on Monday, Oct. 14, when it battles Fresno State in a Mountain West road clash at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT.
In addition to live stats, a link to the Mountain West Network will be available on GoAztecs.com.
SDSU (9-8, 2-4 MW) began its season-long road trip inauspiciously last week, suffering 3-0 sweeps at Wyoming and 15th-ranked Colorado State.
Hannah Turnlund (2.67), Andrea Walker (2.33) and Erin Gillcrist (2.00) averaged two kills or more per set in those two contests, but it wasn't enough as the Aztecs were outhit by a collective .396 to .191. Walker posted the team's best individual attack percentage at .600, knocking down 14 kills on 20 swings with just two errors, while Tamia Reeves totaled six block assists.
Against Wyoming last Thursday, SDSU maintained the upper hand in team blocks (8.0-5.0), but the Cowgirls finished with 14 more kills (49-35) to help spark their victory.
Similarly, the Aztecs held a slight edge in team blocks (4.0-3.0) and digs (39-37) vs. the Rams on Saturday; however, CSU outhit the Scarlet and Black by a sizable .406 to .132 margin while owning a substantial advantage in kills (46-30).
With the results, SDSU finds itself in a tie for seventh place in the conference standings with a 2-4 record, joining Air Force and Utah State.
For the season, the Aztecs still rank among the top half of the Mountain West for all matches in hitting percentage (3rd, .240), assists (4th, 12.12/set) and kills (5th, 12.86/set).
Entering the fourth week of conference play, San Diego State boasts six players among the MW leaders in various categories. Reeves is second with a .393 hitting percentage, while Camryn Machado occupies the fourth spot in assists (10.15/set). In addition, Hannah Turnlund (3.40/set) and Victoria O'Sullivan (3.29/set) rank fifth and sixth in kills, respectively, while Lexie Hamrick is ninth with a .303 hitting percentage. Rounding out the bunch is Loren Teter, who is holding down the 10th position in digs (3.43/set).
Despite suffering a 3-0 loss at home to Fresno State in the lone match between two squads last year, the Aztecs still lead the all-time varsity series 31-13 and have captured the nine of the last 13 encounters. Gillcrist (9 kills, .400) and Turnlund (6 kills) are SDSU's top returning performers from last season's encounter with the Bulldogs, while Teter reached double figures with 10 digs. In all, the Aztecs are 9-8 in 17 previous trips to Fresno since 1986.
Fresno State (10-8, 3-3 MW) has lost three straight, including a pair of 3-0 defeats at Wyoming and Colorado State last week as well. The Bulldogs have been paced by junior outside hitter Desiree Sukhov leads the MW with 4.17 kills per set, while junior libero Reagan Leonard tops the conference with 4.81 digs per frame. In addition, senior setter Madelyn Halteman ranks third in the league in both assists (10.16/set) and service aces (0.40/set, 25), while freshman middle blocker Grace Doyle owns a team-high 61 total blocks.
The Bulldogs are hitting .181 for the season, which ranks eighth in the MW entering the week, while their average of 12.75 kills per set is sixth. Conversely, Fresno State leads the conference in service aces as a team (1.65/set) and ranks second in digs (15.35/set).
The Bulldogs are guided by second-year head coach Jonathan Winder, who was a four-time All-American and the 2007 national player of the year for the men's team at Pepperdine, where he led the Waves to the NCAA finals as a senior in 2008.
Following Monday's matchup, San Diego State will return to the Rockies to face Air Force on Saturday, Oct. 19, starting at 1 p.m. MT/noon PT.